This adventure picks up after the Phaulkonian party, with assistance from the Dwarves, successfully attacked and defeated a Fire Giant Citadel on September 10, 2195, by use of the Amulet of the Fates. [Summarized in “The Only Good Fire Giant…” and “…Is A Dead Fire Giant.”] One of Mordrick’s least-favorite enemies, the evil dwarf, Prince Obmi, also had a cloning lab at the Citadel, which was destroyed. [Aside: Reynore had, much earlier, driven Obmi out of a Fire Giant citadel in 2159.]

Obmi, known as Kracklethump by the Fire Giants (because that was the noise people made when he came up behind them and snapped their spines), was not best pleased. As a result,
there were consequences to this attack upon the Fire Giant Citadel [“Ambush at Hoch-Och”].

Another Phaulkonian hero, Buck, had pursued other activities following the Fane of the Winds quest [“Alegra's Final Summary: The Fane of the Winds”]. These are summarized in an appropriately-titled summary, “Adventures of Buck: Tales of Disaster. “ In the final adventure, he was captured by the Ghoul King, a lich, in a city sewer system, and spent five years in servitude to the Ghoul King, killing good adventurers. When freed, the Ambush at Hoch-Och had already occurred, and Buck moved at top speed to join his comrades there, to help them as they planned their revenge…

It was decided that since the lower level people were close to achieving levels in many cases, the best chance to get additional power before attempting a big mission would be to run the party without its leaders through a series of mini-encounters (a trick used by the BMT party a few games back).

The party had recently decided to christen itself “Superstar” rather than the previous informal moniker “Strangorn” which had morphed into “Strangiaro” and was fast approaching having to become something like “Strangiarva” or “Strangiarvupe.” What all these names had in common is that they were significantly more than just Star. In keeping with this, we chose a name that was “above and beyond” Star—Superstar!

January 01, 2005

The Adventures of Buck: Tales of Disaster

The story of Buck/Weapon X, and his attempts to catch up to Cassian in time.

Buck/Weapon X, played by Andy
Cassian, played by Katherine

He overshoots and actually spends several years as the captive of a lich, doing the evil creature's bidding and slaying many innocents. When he is freed, much time has passed, and he finds his reception considerably cooler than he had expected...

February 01, 2003

Warwick/Cassian Summary: Ambush at Hoch Och!

Party Roster:

Warwick, played by Mark
Cassian, 10th level (?) played by Katherine
and their respective trains...

In early 2197, Obmi seeks revenge on the party that destroyed all of his clones. Misreading an astrology, Warwick and Cassian head to defend the recently cleared fire giant citadel against attack, but the attack comes instead to Hoch Och. During High Holy Days, the wine used during the ceremony explodes upon being opened inside the church, killing many Phaulkonian worshippers and causing a panic in town. Cassian and Warwick return to find that Obmi and a group of giants have fled into the mountains. Cassian vows revenge...

The party stops tracking the queen, and Cassian Auguries the immediate future.
"Will it be beneficial to cast Commune and then use the Delete statue?" Marriat guards Cassian as the rest of the party destroys the two guards cowering in their pajamas. They note that the guard chamber has room for 8 elite warriors -- all of them had been eliminated. Meanwhile, Cassian receives the Augury results "[sic] Perfection is still possible within a window of time." So, immediately a Commune was cast:

The second portion of the fire giant adventure using the Amulet of Fate. The royalty were eliminated, and there was a particularly interesting fight with a fire elemental that couldn't get through the Potion of Fire Immunity placed on Cassian. Great treasure was recovered (although it was estimated that the expenditure of items roughly equalled the profits) and the Citadel was cleansed of fire giants. A number of captives were freed, including a neutral stone giant, although some of the captives were slain by the party. Mordrick was highly effective the with the Dust of Disappearance, backstabbing priests and battle-armored fire giants for up to 100 damage, killing many of them in a single attack!

I have some memory of the captive being taken out of the sack and helping us in the fights.

At the conclusion of the adventure, the aged Marriat wandered out of town and died in the wilderness, having used up and passed on the Amulet of Fate.

Warwick/Cassian Summary: "The Only Good Fire Giant ..." (Fire Giant Citadel Part One)

Prologue: 5-21-2184, near Hoch Och, Cromwell.

After tracking the missing Windsock for 5 months, Warwick and a band of
mighty heroes confront a powerful being known only as "the peddler". This
disguised rakshasa had been wreaking great evil for centuries, and was
barely driven away from Cromwell but not killed. Recovered from the
peddler's wares were the Windsock and a number of other legendary artifacts.
The most bizarre of these artifacts was the Amulet of the Fates, which
allowed the possessor to control the course of the short-term past and
future. The aged Ranger Marriat received the Amulet in return for his
contribution to the quest, and with this magic he began to plan a mortal
blow against the Fire Giants ...

December 01, 2001

Warwick/Cassian Pseudo-Summary: More "Boredom" and Its Consequences

1. C&W were bored. As a result, they had a very expensive (like minus
50K), very brief debacle near the Horn of Iggwilv. They fought a
mammoth-sized spider that shot flames and petrification rays from its eyes,
the spider was also capable of overturning the portable stone cabin that
Warwick uses ... Warwick got petrified and the whole business was very
useless.

2. Cassian (minus Warwick, who was petrified and hidden) encountered Lludd
and refused to pay tribute. She lived. Lludd was somewhat perplexed and
resigned to his failed extortion attempt.

October 01, 2001

Warwick/Cassian Summary: Defending the Aarocockra

Party Roster:

Warwick, played by Mark
Cassian, played by Katherine
and their respective Trains...

Warwick and Cassian battle Obmi and avoid armies of giants trying to steal a dragon's horde from inside the mountain under the aarocockra. A deva is summoned and it battles ineffectually with the ethereal Obmi until finally the dwarven villain is forced to withdraw. He is caught out in the open and killed... but not for good, it appears...

NOTE: I'm not sure if this summary comes before or after Rage Against Ignorance.

Cassian and Warwick were bored. Sure, they'd recently saved a
Phaulkonian holy site, recovered a Dragon's hoard, and destroyed a
clone of Obmi, but what were they going to do next weekend? Warwick
spent thousands on Shabrundian sage research, looking for cool things
to do in the mountains north of Cromwell. Out of the dozen or so
leads, they selected an innocuous adventure - a rumored lost city
underneath the valley of the Noblink, located in the shadow of the
Horn of Iggwilv. "Look over your shoulder" The Phaulkonian duo
hoped to find an underground adventuring locale, allowing them to
spend a productive winter in the mountains. Since very few adventure
areas in Cromwell remained unplundered (by the current King, Stone
Soules, etc.) Warwick was not optimistic about the prospects for
wealth.

Early research indicated that there was only one way into the lost
city, and that the noblink gave yearly tribute to some monster at the
entrance. When Cassian and Warwick arrived, the not-so-unhelpful
noblink confirmed those facts. Using the direct approach, the
Phaulkonian heroes announced their intention to explore the city.
The noblink agreed to let them have rights to all treasure, minus
10%, if they would destroy the demon who demanded tribute.
Additionally, they would spare the hostage dwarves who had been
slated as this year's current sacrifice. They were scheduled for
sacrifice at midnight on December 20, the longest night of the year.
The sacrifice would occur in two weeks.

[ Here is a summary of the Fane of the Winds adventure, written by Alegra Falconer,
from her perspective. If you're looking for the bardic historical document, you'll find it
elsewhere, written by Gramaliustranstalus. If you're looking for the most complete
presentation of the heart and mind of the primary Questers and the Phaulkonian Church,
you need look no further. This note is scribed on specially prepared parchment to
facilitate its preservation over time. -M ]